April 19 (Bloomberg) -- Bayerische Motoren Werke AG may
halt auto production if the world’s largest maker of luxury
vehicles is unable to redirect the flow of supplies disrupted by
a volcanic ash cloud over Europe.

BMW is looking for alternatives to air cargo for
transmissions and other components to supply its factories,
including its plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina, Mathias
Schmidt, a spokesman for the Munich-based carmaker, said today
in a telephone interview.

While no decisions have been made, assembly lines could
come to a stop “in the worst case” if logistics disruptions
persist for more than another two days, he said. Volkswagen AG,
Europe’s largest carmaker, said it could also face production
disruptions if European airspace remains closed.

As many as 81,000 flights have been canceled after the
April 14 eruption of Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull volcano spewed
dust across Europe’s airspace, causing airports from Dublin to
Moscow to shut down. The disruptions are costing carriers as
much as $300 million in lost revenue a day, according to an
estimate by the International Air Transport Association.

“The same issues are likely to affect all manufacturers,”
said Juergen Pieper, an analyst at Bankhaus Metzler in
Frankfurt. “They should be able to make up any lost production
once deliveries restart,” said Pieper, who recommends buying
BMW shares.

Volkswagen, which also makes Audi and Skoda cars as well as
Scania trucks, “can’t rule out” that persistent flight
restrictions could cause factories to run out of parts, Michael
Brendel, a spokesman for the Wolfsburg, Germany-based company
said today by telephone, declining to provide a timeframe for
potential closures. “At the moment, there are no constraints.”

Share Performance

BMW fell 0.7 percent to 35.31 euros in Frankfurt trading.
Daimler, which operates a factory in Alabama, declined 0.6
percent to 36.31 euros. Volkswagen, which operates more than 60
factories around the world, fell 1 percent to 71.41 euros.

BMW produces about 600 vehicles a day at its sole U.S.
factory, which opened in 1994, according to its Web site. The
company also canceled a press trip to visit a factory in
Shenyang, China, because of the air-travel restrictions. BMW
officials and journalists were due to depart for China today.

The U.S. was BMW’s second-biggest market after Germany in
terms of vehicles sold in the first quarter. Deliveries to U.S.
customers rose 7.4 percent to 55,051 cars and SUVs in the first
three months of 2010, according to company data.